Interview with "It Was Just an Accident" Cinematographer Amin Jafari

Photo Courtesy of Iranian Film Festival Zurich

"It Was Just an Accident" had its worldwide premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and even won the top prize at the festival, the coveted Palme d'Or. Ever since, it has been receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences for its stunning craftsmanship and thrilling storytelling. Amin Jafari, the cinematographer of "It Was Just an Accident," was kind enough to spend some time answering my questions via email. You can read the interview below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now in theaters nationwide. It is an incredible film, one of the very best of the year. It is up for your consideration for this year's Academy Awards in all eligible categories, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. Thank you, and enjoy the interview.

This is your third feature collaboration with director Jafar Panahi after "3 Faces" and "No Bears." Could you talk about how you work together, how you joined the project, and your first impressions of the script?

That’s right—my collaboration with Jafar Panahi began on "3 Faces." I already knew him before that and had helped him during the color and exposure pass on "Taxi," which he had shot himself.

"3 Faces" was his first film after the years of restriction, and it was made with a professional unit that included a cinematographer and a sound recordist. He also acted in the film and sent me the script a few months before principal photography. We did a one-day location scout. Panahi wanted an approach that combined simplicity and complexity—simplicity on the surface and complexity underneath—much like the second long take, with the camera inside the car. Finding a balance between these two, with minimal gear and a very small crew (just two assistants), was my biggest challenge on that film.

After "3 Faces," our collaboration on "No Bears" became easier and deeper. By then, I largely knew what he was after, and our working process felt more mature. Trust and conversation between us reached a point where many visual decisions were made very quickly—still with a small team, two assistants, and minimal equipment.

Panahi’s approach to cinema is both humanistic and philosophical. I’ve always found it compelling that without relying on large production resources—and with a simple surface—his films can create vivid, truthful worlds.

In "It Was Just an Accident," unlike the previous two, the story unfolds in Tehran. The film is influenced by the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement as well as his experience of imprisonment. The core idea of the script was formed during that period. Although his official ban had ended by then, the script’s perspective was clearly shaped by the social climate and stands in contrast to the state’s official narrative.

For me, the script’s protest tone—yet deeply human—was invaluable and inspiring. I felt this kind of protest was the most civil form possible. That was my first reason to do the film, beyond the fact that working again with a director like Panahi is an opportunity I wouldn’t pass up.

"It Was Just an Accident" was shot on location in Iran under severe constraints and censorship. What limitations did you face during production, and how did they influence your cinematography and approach to the work?

Shooting "It Was Just an Accident" lived between reality and risk. We had no permits, and the project could be exposed and shut down on any given day.

Under such conditions, “cinematography” stops being merely technical; it becomes an act of humanity—how to keep working and still make a protest film amid fear and pressure. We had to operate with the smallest footprint: a very small crew, very few tools, and almost no visible signs of an official film unit. The camera needed to behave as part of everyday life, not as a cinematic apparatus.

Every decision—from lens choice to camera angle—was shaped by that reality. Often we couldn’t use traditional film lights because they drew attention. So we used natural sources or the artificial light already present in each environment, sometimes modifying them—headlights and taillights, shop signs, or the interior lights of the car. I tried to turn these constraints into an advantage for the film’s realism; even for a professional viewer, the imagery should feel fully believable and lived-in. Those limitations helped the cinematography become more convincing and, ultimately, more impactful.

Photo Courtesy of Amin Jafari

Given those challenges, what camera did you use for "It Was Just an Accident," and why did you choose it?

In these circumstances, camera selection was less a purely technical choice than a pragmatic one. We needed something small, quick, reliable—and still capable of delivering the image quality the film’s visual language required.

Except for the opening scene—shot in a studio with an ARRI Alexa Mini for specific technical reasons—I used the RED Komodo for the rest of the film because of its compact size, light weight, and global shutter. For a film with car-interior movement and long takes, that was a major advantage. The Komodo let us shoot in crowded streets without attracting attention while preserving the dynamic range and texture we needed for a realist narrative. Especially in long takes, chase sequences, and high-tension moments, it allowed me to keep tight control over movement and rhythm with minimal crew and gear. In many locations a larger camera, heavy sticks, or big lights simply weren’t possible—so portability and flexibility were crucial.

Without a dedicated lighting team, how did you handle the lighting challenges, especially on varied locations and situations where you had no official permits?

We had no separate lighting department on this film. From the outset, we designed it so that light would be part of the film’s reality—not an ornamental layer added on top. That meant shooting most setups with the light that already existed, adjusting only when necessary—switching a fixture off, boosting another—to improve the visual effect and support the scene’s feeling.

Within this minimalist approach, I’d first study what light the space itself offered and how it could serve the scene’s inner emotion. Then, using a small number of battery-powered fixtures, we would, without drawing attention, refine exposure and shape the mood. The result was not only faster and simpler, but also more honest—light that feels intrinsic to the space is more believable. Actors also move more naturally when they aren’t constrained by lighting rigs. I think the audience senses that they’re truly inhabiting those environments; it feels tangible and real.

Photo Courtesy of Amin Jafari

Wide frames and long takes are central to the film. What drew you to that visual approach, and what did you and Panahi want these compositions to convey emotionally or thematically?

Long takes and wide frames are not just formal choices; they’re a way of seeing. In Panahi’s cinema—both in the previous films and this one—we’ve tried to let the camera be a “witness”: a quiet, non-judgmental presence that allows reality to unfold in front of the viewer.

In "It Was Just an Accident," this attitude became even more crucial. The film is about interrupting the cycle of violence—about whether such a cycle can be stopped. Every character faces an incident that has left a difficult, painful mark; the question is how they—and by extension, we—respond to it. That’s why we leaned on long takes, so the audience could inhabit real time with the characters. Even for me, as the cinematographer, there were moments when I forgot I was on a set; I felt I was watching life itself. There are no abrupt cuts that break the viewer away from that reality.

The wide frames extend the same logic: they let the characters’ presence within real, lived-in locations register fully—affirming that we are not in an isolated or studio space—and this strengthens believability.

Looking back on the shoot, is there a scene or sequence you’re particularly proud of?

It’s hard to single out one shot when you’ve been part of making the whole film—each has its own unique experience. But there are a few sequences that, for me, feel especially rewarding technically and in terms of the risks we took—and seeing how they affected audiences.

In the penultimate sequence, Shiva (Maryam Afshari) and Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) drive to the outskirts and, after a confrontation, tie Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi) to a tree before leaving. The location was outside the city but not far; there were no existing lights. With a small team, no heavy lighting gear, and the need for total plausibility, I based the lighting logic on the car itself—headlights and the red taillights. For the nearly ten-minute static take of Eghbal tied to the tree, bathing his face in red could have been risky—technically and emotionally—but it proved powerful. That red also completes a visual echo with the opening: when Eghbal steps out after the accident and goes behind the car, his face is again filled by the red of the taillights. The connection reminds the viewer, without any overt signal, where the story began.

The film won the top prize, the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, and is starting to be seen by people across the world. What is the importance, in your opinion, for people around the world to see "It Was Just an Accident" and to understand the political situation in Iran?

Looking back from the first day I read the script, through scouting and casting, to holding the Palme d’Or, the path feels extraordinary and almost unreal. During production, neither Panahi nor I—nor anyone on the team—ever set out to “make a film that would go all the way to the Palme.” What mattered was making the film and voicing realities from our country. Everything in it is drawn from ordinary life. We tried to make the film resemble life itself—from script and direction to performances, cinematography, and design.

As Panahi has said, this isn’t a “political film” in the sense of advocating a specific party line; it’s a social film, very close to lived reality. For many viewers, that offers a relatively fresh perspective—and I think that’s a key reason it resonates globally.

We believe it’s important for the world to see today’s Iran without state propaganda or the slant of daily news cycles. As citizens anywhere, we want to find reality amid so much agenda-driven information. With this way of looking and this method of production, we’ve tried to show a truthful image of Iran today to the world.

Photo Courtesy of Amin Jafari

I would like to thank Mr. Jafari for agreeing to do this interview and for writing such thoughtful and insightful answers to my questions! The cinematography work is amazing, and it is another great film by director Jafar Panahi! Make sure to check out one of the most powerful and beautiful films of 2025 when you get the chance, which is now playing in theaters.

Cast & Crew:

Director: Jafar Panahi

Cast: Vahid Mobasseri, Ebrahim Azizi, Madjid Panahi, Maryam Afshari, Hadis Pakbaten, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Cinematography: Amin Jafari

Editing: Amir Etminan

Producers: Philippe Martin, Jafar Panahi

Production Companies: Les Films Pelléas, Jafar Panahi Productions, Pio & Co, Bidibul Productions, ARTE France Cinéma

Production Designer: Leila Naghdi

Screenplay: Jafar Panahi

Sound: Valérie de Loof, Nicolas Leroy, Abdoreza Heidari, Cyril Holtz

US Distributor: NEON